Why Are Male Politicians So Scared Of Women’s Emotions?

Donald Trump’s attack on Kamala Harris’ laugh proves he’s missing the point.

Donald Trump’s first campaign rally since US President Joe Biden dropped out of the race took place on Saturday and unsurprisingly, the Republican candidate used the platform to direct his attack at Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden has endorsed as his preferred Democratic nominee.

Trump, who has a long history of insulting women, also didn’t surprise us with the misogynistic language he chose to use in his attack, where he took particular aim at Kamala’s laugh and described her as “crazy.”

“I call her ‘laughing Kamala,” Trump said. “Have you ever watched her laugh? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh … She is nuts.”

#DonaldTrump on #VPKamalaHarris at Michigan rally:

“I call her laughin’ Kamala. You ever watch her laugh? She’s crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. No, she’s crazy. She’s nuts. She’s not as crazy as Nancy Pelosi. Crazy Nancy.” pic.twitter.com/lPjb6JaA35— All Tea All Shade (@TeaTimeTips2) July 21, 2024

The discourse around Harris’ laugh also doesn’t end with Trump. Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s former deputy assistant, has previously said that Harris “cackles like an insane woman.”

Labelling women as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’ is nothing new. This kind of language has been used to discredit women and their reasoning since the medieval period, when ‘unruly’ women (women who didn’t behave in the way men expected them to) were often diagnosed with an ailment called ‘hysteria.’ These days, its a word favoured by guilty boyfriends in the heat of a fight, desperate defence lawyers in the court room and misogynistic political opponents.

Crazy is of course, just one of the countless labels used to vilify women in powerful positions. It’s not unusual for women in the workplace to be labelled as ‘bossy’ or ’emotional.’

In politics, Margaret Thatcher was too ‘shrill’, Julia Gillard was too ‘aggressive’ and now Harris is too ‘crazy’—all because she’s revealed her humanness and laughed.

We all know that if Harris was a man—laughing would not make her ‘crazy’ but rather, warm and relatable.

Ironically, Harris’ laugh and humour—her perceived weakness—is actually what’s making her so popular with Gen Z voters.

While Trump’s words might be frustrating to hear, compared to the articulate Harris, with her background as a fierce legal prosecutor, he only sounds desperate and juvenile.

So, in the battle of language, Harris already has the upper hand.